Spur recycles cooking oil

2012-09-18 21:09

Spur Corporation has been recycling cooking oil to produce biodiesel. (Spur)

Cape Town - A food company is using its used cooking oil to power fishing vessels, trucks and mining equipment.

Spur Corporation, which manages Spur Steak Ranches, Panarottis Pizza Pasta and John Dory's Fish Grill Sushi, has partnered with Envirodiesel to remove and recycle used cooking oil from the outlets and sold to other companies using the fuel.

"We have made it mandatory that oil waste has to be collected from our restaurants once a week and a register is maintained to track compliance by all our franchisees," said Pierre van Tonder, CEO of Spur Corporation.

Many firms have been moving toward environmentally sustainable as costs escalate and consumers become more "green" conscious.

Environmentalists have also been vocal about companies' practices and Spur is keen to protect its reputation in SA.

"We are aware that some environmentalists do not promote biofuel production where land is involved that could be used to grow food.  However, this is not an issue here. We are converting waste into a viable source of energy," Van Tonder said.

The programme has already produced 870 000l of biodiesel and the group has cut waste by 55% in the last year.

"We have also reduced the ink coverage and number of colours used on all our packaging across our Spur, Panarottis and John Dory's brands to ensure a substantial reduction in environmental impact during manufacturing," said Van Tonder.

- News24